Department for Transport

Bridges: Great Musgrave

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government why National Highways has not provided the information requested by Mr Graeme Bickerdike in response to his Freedom of Information request made on 10 May regarding Great Musgrave Bridge (FOI/3614); what were the reasons for their public comments about the motives of Mr Bickerdike in making that request; and whether they will now supply the information requested.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request submitted by Mr Bickerdike was dealt with by National Highways and deemed to be of a vexatious nature under the terms of the FoI Act and Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance. National Highways has therefore refused to respond to further FoI requests regarding infilling from Mr Bickerdike.An internal review of this refusal was requested by Mr Bickerdike and this was completed and issued by National Highways. The internal review has to be sent to the address that requested it, in this case Mr Bickerdike has made his requests via the ‘What Do They Know’ website which is a public forum accessible by anyone. National Highways therefore provided the response to the email address requested and this resulted in it being accessible to the public at large. As explained in the replies from National Highways, Mr Bickerdike can also refer the complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office for a decision.

A12: Speed Limits

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government why a 10-mile section of the A12 between Ipswich and Colchester has a 40 mile per hour speed limit; and when this section will return to its previous speed limit.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: A temporary 40 mph speed limit is in place on the A12 between Marks Tey and the Four Sisters Interchange as National Highways is currently carrying out a programme of works. These works include resurfacing, barrier replacement, drainage renewal, replacing road studs and road markings and, other safety improvements.Whilst the works are predominantly carried out during carriageway closures overnight, the 40mph speed limit is currently in place during the day to ensure the safety of road users whilst the works are still incomplete. National Highways anticipates that this temporary speed restriction will be in place until September 2022 when the works are expected to be completed.

Blue Badge Scheme: EU Countries

Lord Bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government with which EU countries they have negotiated mutual recognition of the disabled persons blue parking badges.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for motorists visiting Europe. Twenty countries have already committed to recognising Blue Badges and are listed on Gov.uk.Discussions continue with a number of countries. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the progress of discussions while they are on-going.

Blue Badge Scheme: Spain

Lord Bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 17 May (HL32), when they last discussed mutual recognition of the disabled persons blue parking badges with the government of Spain; and what outstanding issues are preventing mutual recognition.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: At a recent discussion with Spain, Blue Badge recognition was considered as part of wider negotiations on a driving licence exchange agreement but ultimately this was not an appropriate mechanism and the Government is considering alternatives.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Bulb Energy: Insolvency

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what is the total cost to date fortheir support for Bulb Energy, and (2) what estimate they have made of the final cost of that support.

Lord Callanan: The Government is working closely with the Energy Administrators to minimise any costs to the exchequer and billpayers. In the progress report to creditors on 15 June, the Energy Administrators confirmed that £901m has been drawn down to meet the cost of the Energy Administration to date. The Energy Administrators estimated at the outset of the SAR that £1.7bn of Government finance would be required. The £1.7bn figure remains the overall facility limit. This is an estimate, and the final cost of the SAR could change in either direction given energy price volatility.

Energy: Price Caps

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a tableshowing(1) the breakdown of the Supplier of the Last Resort (SOLR) levy, and (2) the amount that each customer pays for each component of that levy, through their energy bills.

Lord Callanan: The independent energy Regulator, Ofgem, is responsible for administering the SOLR process and sets the levy for how costs are recouped, following consultation with stakeholders. In February, Ofgem announced the level of the price cap for April 2022 which included £68 for supplier of last resort costs. More detail can be found on Ofgem’s website.

Flexible Working

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Stedman-Scott on 21 June (HL Deb col 54GC), when they will respond to the September 2021 consultation conducted by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on making flexible working the default.

Lord Callanan: The Government will publish its response to the consultation on flexible working in due course.

Public Houses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps theyare taking to support the pub industry in England.

Lord Callanan: The Government published its first-ever Hospitality Strategy in July 2021. The Strategy set out twenty-two commitments to support the sector across a range of policy areas, grouped into three themes: Reopening, Recovery, and Resilience. This Department launched the Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the delivery of the strategy, and officials continue to work with the Council and the sector to deliver the strategy commitments. The Government engages regularly with hospitality businesses and organisations to understand the pressing issues that they face, including cost pressures and supply chain disruptions. An update on the Hospitality Strategy will be published shortly.

Reconstruction: Ukraine

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the capabilities of the UK (1) construction industry, and (2) related consultancy businesses, to operate in the rebuilding of Ukraine.

Lord Callanan: The UK has led support for Ukraine during the war and we will continue to lead in supporting the Ukrainian government’s Reconstruction and Development Plan. The UK Government is exploring how we engage British construction and consultancy businesses to participate in the reconstruction effort, and we continue to work closely with the sector to identify where it has the capability and capacity to do so

Newport Wafer Fab: Nexperia

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the decision of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regarding the merger of Nexperia and Newport Wafer Fab will be taken prior to the publication of their Semiconductor Strategy.

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent the decision regarding the merger of Nexperia and Newport Wafer Fab will be based on (1) the risk of Chinese ownership of the UK semiconductor industry, or (2) the risk of damage to the UK semiconductor industry.

Lord Callanan: On 25 May, the Secretary of State called in the acquisition by Nexperia of Newport Wafer Fab for a full national security assessment under the National Security and Investment Act. That process is underway and will proceed in line with statutory timescales. It would not be appropriate to comment further on the Government’s assessment at this stage. Separately to this case, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is undertaking a review of the semiconductor sector, working closely with industry experts and representative bodies. The outcome of that review will be concluded later in the year.

UK Endorsement Board: Public Appointments

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 6 July (HL1265), how the post of Technical Director of the UK Endorsement Board can have been recruited by the process set out in the attachment in the light of the metadata showing that this document was created on 29 April 2021, whilst Financial Reporting Council minutes indicate that the post had been taken by Seema Jamil O’Neill at some time before 18 June 2020.

Lord Callanan: The Technical Director was appointed on 1 December 2021 as a permanent role, following an open and transparent recruitment process for internal and external candidates as set-out in the attachment to my response to Question HL1265. Between 1 June 2020 and up until 1 December 2021 the role was filled on an interim basis, whilst the UKEB was being set up. The interim appointment was made through an internal secondment competition within FRC which included an application and interview process with representatives of FRC HR, BEIS and a Technical Expert from the Bank of England.

Google and Meta: Profits

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment theyhave made of the excess profits generated by (1) Meta, and (2) Google, in the UK from online advertising; and whether they will direct the Competition and Markets Authority to update their calculations in the Online platforms and digital advertisingstudy, published in July 2020.

Lord Callanan: The Government has no plans to direct the Competition and Markets Authority, which is an independent regulator, to update the calculations in its online platforms and digital advertising study. However digital competition is a priority for the Government as shown by our plans to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, through a new pro-competition regime for digital markets as reaffirmed in the consultation response published on 6 May.

Northern Ireland Office

Foreign Investment in UK: Northern Ireland

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to date to attract inward investment into Northern Ireland in 2022.

Lord Caine: The Government is committed to promoting investment into Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Office Minister of State, Conor Burns attended Northern Ireland Day at the Dubai Expo earlier this year where he promoted Northern Ireland businesses already exporting globally, including White’s Oats, Kiverco and Greenfields, as well as meeting Sovereign Wealth Funds to promote the fantastic investment opportunities in Northern Ireland. Representatives of these Funds have been invited to visit and explore investment opportunities in areas of mutual interest. Northern Ireland Office Ministers and the Special Envoy to the United States on Northern Ireland also undertake frequent visits to the United States to promote the benefits of business in Northern Ireland and attract investment. Northern Ireland is already the number one international investment location for US Cyber Security firms, and the UK Government aims to build on this great potential. Also, through the New Deal for Northern Ireland we have invested £8 million into expanding Invest NI’s presence overseas, with posts in Tokyo, Singapore and Guangzhou already underway, enhancing Northern Ireland’s investment opportunities. In addition, the Department for International Trade has opened a Northern Ireland hub in Belfast, offering bespoke support for Northern Ireland businesses, including looking to attract investment.

Department of Health and Social Care

Medical Treatments

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 17 June (HL645), whether an agenda for NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group's next meeting has been finalised; and if so, when the agenda will be shared with stakeholders.

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 17 June (HL645), whether an agenda for NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group's next meeting has been finalised; and if so, when it will be shared with relevant stakeholders.

Lord Kamall: The agenda has been finalised and made available to relevant stakeholders.

NHS Trusts: Food Banks

Baroness Merron: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS trusts have set up food banks in England.

Baroness Merron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why NHS trusts have set up food banks.

Baroness Merron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with NHS trusts that have set up food banks; and whether those trusts have set them up to provide food and support for (1) staff, or (2) others.

Lord Kamall: Information on food banks established by National Health Service trusts is not held centrally. No specific assessment has been made and there have been no such discussions. Any arrangements would be implemented by individual trusts and would vary across organisations.

Community Diagnostic Centres: Suffolk

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 28 June (HL985), which community diagnostic centres have already been identified in Suffolk and which are under consideration.

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 28 June (HL985), whether Hartismere hospital in Suffolk is under consideration as a community diagnostic centre.

Lord Kamall: There are currently no existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in Suffolk and potential locations remain under review. NHS England’s discussions with local integrated care systems, diagnostic networks and primary care services have considered Hartismere Hospital as a potential site for a CDC. However, these locations will be determined alongside wider system plans for providing more accessible diagnostics to the local population, including potential sites in Ipswich and Newmarket.

Health Professions: Recruitment

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 27 June (HL1046), what plansthey have to record data on the number of health care professionals who were hired from countries graded as red by the World Health Organisation.

Lord Kamall: We have no plans to do so.We collate data from published sources to monitor the patterns of staff joining the National Health Service who have trained outside the United Kingdom. This includes data from the the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s register and the Electronic Staff Record’s information on the nationality of staff.

Department of Health and Social Care: Social Workers

Lord Laming: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatis the most senior post in the Department of Health and Social Care that is occupied by a qualified social worker with experience of working in local government.

Lord Kamall: The Chief Social Worker for Adults, Lyn Romeo, is a qualified and registered social worker.

Cystic Fibrosis: Mental Health Services and Social Workers

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of (1) paediatric cystic fibrosis centres, and (2) adult cystic fibrosis centres, in England employed (a) a social worker, and (b) a clinical psychologist, as part of their multi-disciplinary team, for each year since 2015.

Lord Kamall: The information requested is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of funding delivered to community mental health projects in the last two years.

Lord Kamall: While no formal assessment has been made, we have committed to invest at least an additional £2.3 billion a year to expand mental health services in England by 2023/24, including community mental health support. In 2020/21, we provided £500 million to accelerate plans to improve National Health Service mental health provision. This included £15 million for prevention and early intervention in over 250 local projects promoting better mental health and wellbeing in 40 of the most deprived local authority areas in England. We also provided an additional £10.2 million to support mental health charities, including Samaritans and the Campaign Against Living Miserably in response to the pandemic.

Care Homes: Vacancies

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the data released by Skills for Care on 10 June that showed that (1) care home companies, and (2) local authorities, have high vacancy rates and are struggling with staff shortages within care homes.

Lord Kamall: We continue to monitor the monthly data released by Skills for Care with other operational data sources which indicate staff capacity in adult social care.Skills for Care advise that its monthly data is unweighted and may not be representative, as it reflects those care providers which have updated the adult social care workforce dataset. The data does not include local authority staff responsible for assessments and the commissioning of care.

NHS: Hospitals

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the(1) planned construction start date, (2) expected construction completion date, and (3) budgeted cost, for each of the 40 new NHS hospitals they propose to build in England by 2030.

Lord Kamall: The Government has committed to build 40 new hospitals by 2030, in addition to eight previously announced schemes.The schemes are grouped into five cohorts for delivery by 2030, based on an assessment of readiness to progress and the extent to which schemes can realise the benefits of the national programme. This assessment is subject to continuous review and the timescales for individual schemes may change. A current list of schemes and cohorts is attached, due to the size of the data. This includes where schemes are in construction and indicative construction start timescales. There are eight schemes in cohort five, which refers to schemes yet to be confirmed and are currently subject to an ongoing selection process.At the Spending Review in 2020, the Government confirmed an initial £3.7 billion for the first four years of the programme. Funding from 2024/25 will be set out in further detail at future spending reviews. Specific timetables and funding allocations for individual schemes will be determined through the business case assurance process. In May 2022, the programme secured approval to progress the schemes in cohort two and the approach to delivering the programme was confirmed.table (docx, 21.2KB)

Community First Responders

Lord Bach: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to NHS Community First Responders; and what steps they are taking to improve public awareness of the work done by First Responders.

Lord Kamall: National Health Service ambulance trusts are responsible for the deployment of volunteer Community First Responders and provide the appropriate training, equipment, oversight and support to volunteers. There are no specific centralised campaigns to raise awareness.

Nurses: Migrant Workers

Lord Lilley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many nurses joined the Nursing and Midwife Council Register from countries graded by the World Health Organisation as having fewer nurses than the global median in the most recent year for which figures are available

Lord Kamall: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in the United Kingdom. The following table shows the number of nurses, midwives, and nursing associates joining the NMC’s register from each country with fewer nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 people than the global median in the year ending 31 March 2022.Bahrain 4Bangladesh 1Barbados 18Belize 17Cameroon 17China 6Colombia 3Egypt 13Eswatini 9Ethiopia 1Gambia 12India 9,769Iran 19Iraq 1Jamaica 115Jordan 12Kenya 461Lebanon 20Lesotho 18Malawi 7Malaysia 20Namibia 11Nepal 210Niger 1Nigeria 3,010Pakistan 112Saint Lucia 13Sri Lanka 14Tanzania 1Tunisia 1Turkey 2Uganda 30Zambia 57Zimbabwe 913 Notes:1. The World Health Organization publishes a measure of the number of nurses per 10,000 population. The median for their measure, unweighted by countries population is 35.07 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 population.2. Countries below the median level of nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 population where there were no joiners to the NMC register are excluded.

Respiratory System: Health Services

Baroness Harris of Richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce anannual respiratory services delivery report.

Baroness Harris of Richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the levels of (1) training, and (2) accreditation, for staff administering simple breathing tests, such as (a) spirometry, and (b) FeNO.

Lord Kamall: There are no plans to introduce an annual respiratory services delivery report.The Association of Respiratory Technology and Physiology (ARTP) sets and assesses competence against the standards for quality assured spirometry. The ARTP oversee a national register of those who achieved certification in the performance and/or interpretation of spirometry. Additional funding has been made available to systems in 2021/22 and 2022/23 for the training and accreditation of staff in the provision and interpretation of quality assured spirometry. This process is being supported by respiratory clinical networks.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide devices to diagnose asthma. These devices were selected by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) for tailored support in 2021/22 as part of the Rapid Uptake Product (RUP) programme to increase adoption in the National Health Service.During 2021/22, the RUP programme produced resources with AAC partners to support successful implementation and improve patient access to these products. This included educational packages for health professional responsible for care to improve knowledge and skills.

Palantir

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide an update on the procurement of Palantir as the preferred supplier of NHS England's Federated Data Platform.

Lord Kamall: The Federated Data Platform will be procured by NHS England via an open competition, in line with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The competition is open to all suppliers and will abide by all the core principles of the Regulations, including transparency, non-discrimination, equal treatment and proportionality. It is anticipated that the procurement will launch in September 2022. A preferred supplier will not be selected until the competition has completed.

Ministry of Justice

Mental Health Services: Gambling

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were subject to a Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) as part of a (1) community, or (2) suspended, sentence order due to a serious gambling addiction for each year since their introduction in 2005.

Lord Bellamy: Offenders with a gambling addiction may be suitable for a Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) as part of a community or suspended sentence order where mental health has been identified as an underlying factor. Data on the factors underlying the use of MHTRs is collected on the primary presenting need such as anxiety or depression. As problem gambling is not identified as a primary presenting need the data requested is not currently available

Abortion

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include within the Bill of Rights Bill provision for women across the UK to have access to safe abortion.

Lord Bellamy: The position on abortion is settled in UK law and it is rightfully decided by Parliament. It is an issue of conscience, and the Government has no current plans to introduce this issue into the Bill of Rights. We should be mindful of finding ourselves in the US position, where the issue is litigated through the courts, rather than settled as it is here by Parliament. Health Services across the UK are responsible for providing access to safe and legal abortion within the framework of the law.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

War Crimes: Criminal Investigation

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what supportthey are providing for investigations of any alleged war crimes currently taking place; and whether they will increase the resources available to support those investigations.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: International criminal justice and accountability is a fundamental element of our foreign policy. The UK supports the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its role as the primary international institution with the mandate to investigate and prosecute war crimes and other international crimes of the most serious concern.On 14 July 2022, I represented the UK at the Ukraine Accountability conference in The Hague. I met with ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and stressed the UK's continued commitment to ensuring that our assistance in the investigation of atrocity crimes and support to victims, is effective. The UK has also joined with the United States and the European Union to launch the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA), which is supporting the Office of the Prosecutor General to investigate and prosecute conflict-related crimes. The UK will commit £2.5 million to delivering justice for war crimes in Ukraine, through the ACA's vital work.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of (1) the response of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) the Fund’s role in future pandemic preparedness.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Global Fund is a high performing organisation that, with partners, has saved 44 million lives to date. The UK is proud to be the organisation's third largest donor historically, investing £4.1 billion since 2002. The Global Fund responded quickly and effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing the COVID-19 Response Mechanism. This mechanism has raised over $4.3 billion to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on programs to fight HIV, TB and malaria, and work with national response plans to support urgent improvements in health and community systems. The UK allocated an additional £60 million to the mechanism this year to support diagnostic and oxygen supplies. As an active member of the Board, the UK is supporting the Global Fund to define its evolving role on Pandemic Preparedness and Response within its new 2023-2028 strategy.

Turkey: Yazidis

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, or are planning to have, with the government of Turkey to locate and return kidnapped Yazidi women and children.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take (1) to prevent the sale of Yazidi women and girls in Turkey and territory controlled by Turkey, and (2) to ensure that the perpetrators of any such sales are brought to justice.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: UK Ministers and officials encourage the Turkish authorities to safeguard the welfare of all minority groups in Turkey and respect their human rights, in line with the Turkish constitution. We also regularly emphasise to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights and avoid civilian casualties in its operations in Iraq. We will continue to monitor these issues closely.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what their strategic priorities are in relation to malaria, following the publication of the International Development Strategy.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As set out in the International Development Strategy and our global health position papers, global health is a priority for UK development policy and programming. Within this we will particularly focus on strengthening health systems and ending the preventable deaths of women, newborns, and children. Tackling malaria is closely linked with the UK's ambition on ending preventable deaths, as the disease predominantly impacts pregnant women and children under 5. Our focus on health systems strengthening is key to sustainably tackling malaria and other diseases. Our health programming and investments on these themes will continue to account for malaria's disproportionate impact on these demographs.

Turkey: Yazidis

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Turkey is carrying out airstrikes against Yazidi civilians and civilian targets.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is saddened by the death of a Yazidi child on 15 June during Turkish airstrikes in the Sinjar district of northern Iraq. The UK is closely following the situation in northern Iraq, including monitoring effects of recent Turkish operations on civilians and minority groups. We reiterate to all parties the need for dialogue and cooperation between Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of the resurgence of malaria over the next three years in relation to health system strengthening, following the publication of the International Development Strategy.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In 2020, there was the first significant increase in malaria cases and deaths in two decades and we recognise the risk of further resurgence of malaria. Health systems strengthening is critical to reducing this risk. As set out in the International Development Strategy, global health is a priority for UK development policy and programming and within this we will particularly focus on strengthening health systems to improve the resilience of health systems to shocks such as pandemics and to ensure continued progress on malaria and other diseases.

Iraq and Syria: Yazidis

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there has been genocide of the Yazidi people at the hands of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Turkey about its obligations to prevent genocide against the Yazidi people; and what discussions they have had with the UN Security Council about referring Turkey to the International Criminal Court in respect of allegations of genocide within its territory.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to the prevention and punishment of genocide as appropriate under the Genocide Convention, to which the UK is party. It is the long-standing policy of the British Government that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. However, this policy does not inhibit the UK from taking robust action to address the egregious human rights abuses committed by Daesh.We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Yazidis, Christians, and other minorities, as well as Muslim populations in Syria and Iraq. We note the conviction in a German court on 30 November 2021 of a former Daesh fighter for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. We are following this case and its review closely. We will continue to use our position at the UN, including as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to raise situations of concern and to support the deployment of all appropriate tools available to the UN in dealing with potential mass atrocities. Our focus is always on securing an end to violence and protecting civilians.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their programmes to prevent malaria in pregnancy, following the publication of the International Development Strategy.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As set out in the International Development Strategy and our global health position papers, global health is a priority for UK development policy and programming. Within this we will particularly focus on strengthening health systems and ending the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and children. Our bilateral health programmes will take consideration of malaria's disproportionate impact on pregnant women and children under five as a key driver of preventable deaths, and will strengthen health systems to deliver quality malaria prevention and treatment. Our investment in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria also delivers large scale malaria interventions for pregnant women and children.We also fund research on combatting malaria, including for mothers, babies and children. For instance, our funding to the Medicines for Malaria Venture supports their Malaria in Mothers and Babies strategy, which aims to scale up the availability of preventive malaria treatment in pregnancy and generate evidence on the use of existing antimalarials throughout pregnancy.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Pastoral Care

Lord Low of Dalston: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider religious chaplains qualified to offer pastoral support to non-religious armed forces personnel; and if so, why.

Lord Low of Dalston: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of non-religious pastoral care in the armed forces of the Kingdoms of Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands; and whether theywill consider introducing a similar model in the UK.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a diverse population, including personnel with a range of beliefs and faith, and those who have no religion. Military Chaplains are selected and trained primarily because of their ability to show empathy to all Service personnel. They are professionally qualified to provide pastoral care to everyone, regardless of faith, world philosophy or status and will provide or facilitate spiritual support to personnel and their families as requested. Service personnel who do not wish to talk to a Chaplain for faith/belief/philosophical reasons are encouraged to seek spiritual support from a variety of alternative sources, which can be facilitated by the Chaplain. This includes their Chain of Command, through the Services' professional social workers, medical staff, welfare staff. Mutual support is also available via the various staff networks, including the Humanist and Non Religious in Defence (HAND) Network. The MOD is aware that the Armed Forces of Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands employ humanist pastoral carers (or similar). We are working to create and sustain an environment where everyone feels respected and able to achieve their full potential. We have recently concluded a review of the provision of non-religious pastoral support for our Armed Forces and are currently considering the recommendations of that review and how best we can support all our people.

Typhoon Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Eurofighter/Typhoon fighter jets were originally planned for in the defence programme; and on what basis that number was calculated.

Baroness Goldie: At the time initial approvals were given in the mid-1990s, the number of Eurofighter Typhoon originally planned for in the defence programme was 232. However, this had reduced to 160 firm orders by the time that the final Tranche 3 contract was signed in 2009 under a previous Government.The basis used to calculate that planned number in the 1990s would now be a matter of public record and any remaining records would be held in the National Archives.

Department for Work and Pensions

Sign Language

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Stedman-Scott on 21 June (HL Deb col 51GC), when they will issue guidance on the promotion and facilitation of British Sign Language (BSL) and establish a BSL advisory board.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: We anticipate that the BSL Board will be established by late Autumn 2022. Guidance on the promotion and facilitation of British Sign Language will follow.

Social Security Benefits: Canada

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Stedman-Scott on 29 June (HL1002), whether they have had any engagement with the government of Canada on a reciprocal social security agreement; and if so, what discussions they have had with that government on the subject.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The UK Government responded to a request for a reciprocal social security agreement from the Canadian Government in March 2021. The Government has also recently received a letter from the Government of Canada on negotiating a reciprocal social security agreement. The Department for Work and Pensions plans to respond to this request in due course.

Jobcentres: Training

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have to allowJobcentre Plus to use the expansion of work coach capacity to introduce specialist single parent advisers.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants. We are continuously reviewing and improving the service to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs.Our Work Coaches undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality, efficient service to all claimants including Lone Parents. They receive on-going learning in their roles and have access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals. The Department’s learning products emphasise the importance of treating each claimant as an individual in order to identify and meet their specific needs, whatever they may be.Additionally, Jobcentre staff have access to a District Provision Tool which provides access to the full range of provision and support delivered by DWP, providers, local authorities and independent volunteer/charity organisations. However, if Work Coaches are unable to identify local provisions that meets the needs of the claimant, they liaise with DWP Partnership Managers, who have the flexibility to work alongside local organisations to source appropriate provision helping our claimants to access the support they need.

State Retirement Pensions

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theywill publish a table showing the (1) lowest, and (2) median, (a) pre-2016, and (b) post-2016, state pension for (i) men, and (ii) women.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The median weekly amount of State Pension paid, by gender, at the end of November 2021 is shown in the below table. These show payments under the two systems: - (i) the basic State Pension (bSP) plus other components such additional State Pension (SERPS and State Second Pension) and Graduated Retirement Benefit, which operated for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016; and (ii) the new State Pension (nSP) system for people reaching State Pension age from that date onwards. The lowest State Pension amounts in payments are less than £1 per week for all groups. Please note that this does not include any payments of Pension Credit which people may be receiving in addition to their contributory State Pension. Median weekly amount of State Pension (£) by gender, Quarter ending November 2021 Type of State PensionWomenMenTotalPre 2016 State Pension150.88172.79161.06New State Pension175.90179.41177.94 Source: DWP, Data and Analytics, Digital Group - Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, and other administrative data. Notes:Coverage: All cases in payment in Great Britain, plus claimants residing abroad. This excludes cases administered in Northern Ireland.This data table provides temporary estimates for November 2021. The data will be withdrawn and replaced with new data on ‘Stat-Xplore’ once the Get Your State Pension (GYSP) system data have been reliably developed and tested.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Aviation

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the effects of jet-lag on ministerial decision-making at all levels.

Lord True: Ministers, on occasion, are required to travel abroad for government business to enable the delivery of the government’s objectives. In cases where a Minister is required to travel long distances across time zones, flexibility in internal departmental travel guidance exists to enable ministers to travel more comfortably. This exists to mitigate the side effects of jet-lag and tiredness and ensure that efficiency, judgement and concentration are not negatively impacted. Departments publish details of overseas flights on a quarterly basis on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

Agriculture: Employment

The Earl of Leicester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many (1) vacancies, and (2) roles, there were in the farming sector, in each month of 2022.

Lord True: A response to the noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 12 July is below and attached. Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National StatisticianThe Earl of LeicesterHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW18 July 2022Dear Lord Leicester,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of how many (1) vacancies, and (2) roles, there were in the farming sector, in each month of 2022 (HL1696). The Office for National Statistics produces statistics on both vacancies and jobs in our Vacancies and Jobs statistical publication[1]. Within this publication, estimates of both vacancies[2] and jobs[3] are produced by industry, according to the Standard Industrial Classification 2007. Within the classification, the closest industry to “farming” would be Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing. With the data available, unfortunately it is not possible to provide estimates of the number of vacancies held by agricultural businesses. This is because the vacancy survey excludes businesses within the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry, owing to the disproportionate costs involved as the industry mainly consists of very small businesses with few vacancies. We are however exploring the use of online job advert data to provide better insights into labour demand by occupation, and we are hoping to publish these insights later this year.Statistics on jobs are published on a quarterly basis and for agriculture, forestry and fishing are based on estimates of first and second jobs, either as employees or as self-employed, as measured by our Labour Force Survey[4]. As it is a survey of people within private households, it is based on respondents correctly classifying themselves within the right industry. Our most recent publication in June covered data up to March 2022 when we estimate there to have been 329,000 jobs within the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry[5]. This represented a fall of 13,000 from the previous period (December 2021), and a fall of 79,000 when compared with its pre-pandemic level in December 2019.Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond1 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/jobsandvacanciesintheuk/latest2 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/datasets/vacanciesbyindustryvacs023 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/workforcejobsbyindustryjobs024 https://www.ons.gov.uk/surveys/informationforhouseholdsandindividuals/householdandindividualsurveys/labourforcesurvey5 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/summaryoflabourmarketstatistics UKSA response (pdf, 116.3KB)

Senior Civil Servants: Overseas Workers

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord True on 6 and 22 June (HL302 and HL811), whether the Cabinet Office will write to each Government Department asking them to indicate how many UK-based (1) Permanent Secretaries, and (2) Senior Civil Servants have been working from abroad at any time in the last 24 months.

Lord True: As I stated in my response to HL302 on 6 June and HL811 on 23 June, the Cabinet Office does not hold departmental information about civil servants in UK-based senior leadership roles working from abroad. Working abroad has always been by exception in the Cabinet Office and is not permitted unless there is a specific business need or under the most exceptional of circumstances (an example of which might be where an employee’s partner is a civil servant and is permanently posted abroad). This is still the current position of the Cabinet Office. In future, we will ensure that communications are sent to departments, as part of wider communications on senior resourcing, to highlight that departmental records should be kept up to date.

Treasury

Car Allowances

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answerby Baroness Penn on 4 July (HL Deb),whether they will increase the allowable mileage rate for employees using their own vehicles for business purposes from 45 pence per mile, given theincreased cost of fuel.

Baroness Penn: The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rates to minimise administrative burdens. The AMAP rates aim to reflect running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Depreciation is estimated to constitute the most significant proportion of the AMAP rates. Fuel costs only contribute to a fraction of the AMAP rates and not the total rate. Employers are not required to use the AMAP rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse the actual cost incurred, where individuals can provide evidence of the expenditure, without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge arising. Alternatively, they can choose to pay a different mileage rate that is higher or lower than the AMAP rates. If an employee is paid less than the approved amount, they are allowed to claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) from HMRC. However, if the payment exceeds the relevant AMAP rate, and this results in a profit for the individual, they will be liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance contributions on the difference. As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rates under review and any changes are considered by the Chancellor.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Mental Illness: Young People

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that youth arts are sufficiently funded to help young people with mental health problems.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Her Majesty’s Government recognises the benefits that non-medical interventions can have on physical and mental health.Arts Council England works with Bridge Organisations and Music Education Hubs which play a key role in working with local authorities and schools to support the good health of children and young people. They are also working in partnership with the Youth Endowment Fund on research into the links between creativity and improved mental health.The Arts Council also funds a number of organisations across the country which provide arts programmes that aim to help and support young people with mental health problems. These include the Knotted Project in Cumbria, the Thriving Communities project delivered by Wolverhampton Voluntary Sector Council, and the North Tyneside Cultural Education Partnership which is piloting cultural social prescribing delivered through schools for 5-19 year olds.In addition, DCMS will be providing £560 million of taxpayer’s money to deliver the National Youth Guarantee which includes the delivery of up to 300 new and refurbished youth spaces and services in areas of the country which may not have benefitted as much as they should have done in the past.

Public Interest

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the non-disclosure of the details of a meeting betweenLord Brownlow of Shurlock Row and Oliver Dowden on the grounds that releasing the information would not be in the public interest, what are the criteria for deciding whether or not something meets the public interest test; who is responsible for that decision; and who took the decision not to release the information in this particular case.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Freedom of Information team assess requests and undertake the relevant public interest test on a case-by-case basis, aligned to the guidance set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office. This request was withheld under Section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and therefore requires a “qualified person” to provide their “reasonable opinion” on its publication. In this instance, the qualified person was the Secretary of State. Whilst the Secretary of State as the qualified person must give the required opinion, in line with the ICO guidance, DCMS civil servants carried out the preparatory work leading up to this decision.